I Need to Travel: Here’s Why

When your life is routine based it can become monotonous. You’ll have to do something to stir it up, like Bob Marley said. (I used to listen to a ton of Bob in high school).

Having fun exploring the town of Puerto Jimenez

And when you start to become ritualistic on your morning baguette with marmalade , get sad at the thought of spending a night away from your cozy blanket and you get OCD over the colors of your laundry, it’s time to take a trip.

Book a flight.

No excuses.

Don’t have enough money?

Make the trip as cheap as you can.

Not enough time?

Find a holiday weekend, swap shifts with your cousin or call in sick.

Not enough guts?

I guarantee it will be worth it.

Besides all the superficial Club Med benefits, travel offers something so much more profound than a pretty beach to relax and let loose. It provides perspective and breaks you free of your routine and mental patters. When you come back to your life after taking a travel break, everything will be different. All of a sudden you’ll be having fruit for breakfast, want to organize a camping trip and do all your laundry mixed together.

Travel reminds you that there is something else out there in the world far more exciting than getting territorial over your Whole Foods parking spot and far more interesting than getting annoyed at the same lady in yoga class who always lays her mat too close to yours.
I am a big advocate of travel as a learning tool and a mean of self discovery. I’ve noticed some cultures encourage travel much more than others. I can’t really say travel is engrained in the Italian culture, but somehow there are a lot of Italians living abroad. But I digress. For as much as my Italian clan thinks of me as someone who simply vacations too much, I can’t stress enough how important travel is to me.

One of the best part about travel: impromptu friend and puppy beach hang out

It has helped me figured out who I am, prove to myself that I can be independent beyond my own belief, it has provided some of the most romantic times of my life and also broken my heart, it has tested my social abilities, forced me to be more social when I didn’t want to and never regret it. It has helped me understand how simply and much more happily some people can live, how not everyone does everything the same way. How it’s not okay to laugh at other cultures’ habits because to them my habits are just as ridiculous. How even though authentic Italian food is great not everyone cooks Italian in the same way. It has made me appreciate the comforts of my home, miss my family , made me realize my frustrations seem so minuscule compared to real problems, and I’ve always come back centered, inspired, appreciative and feeling more alive than ever.

If you’re someone who has not experienced much travel before for one reason or the other, or is considering a trip but is on the fence, I hope this will encourage you to embark on a journey. Any journey, even a roadtrip outside of town.